I've followed up on some pretty disturbing stories as this whole illegal aliens behind the wheels of semis saga has begun unfolding. And one of the constants behind the drivers are the so-called 'driving schools' that accredit these big-rig operators and hand them the certifications for whatever size truck and trailer they intend to operate.
It's all well and good if they've been through proper Department of Transportation-sanctioned training courses, which would also imply they spoke the King's English, and that all their paperwork, if they were a foreign national, had been thoroughly vetted before they were even allowed to enter.
How bad the phony-baloney driving school problem is was illustrated by one of Duffy's moves in his first year in office. This past January, he announced they had closed 7500 driving schools and pulled over 11,500 non-English-speaking drivers off the roads.
That was a mind-blowing number.
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy has closed 7,500 commercial driver training schools in a first year of enforcing federal laws governing trucking to increase road safety.
Recently, he listed significant actions directed toward the trucking industry among other key transportation achievements under “a year of decisive wins under President Donald J. Trump’s America First Agenda.”
Three top trucking-related accomplishments made his total list of accomplishments:
- Removing more than 11,500 drivers who failed to meet English-language proficiency standards.
- Shutting down 7,500 CDL training schools that failed to meet readiness standards — up from 3,000 school providers removed by December from a federal Training Provider Registry.
- Enforcing ELP compliance in 49 states (excluding California).
DOT stated on Jan. 21, “After numerous deadly — and avoidable — accidents on America’s roads caused by dangerous and unqualified truck drivers, Secretary Duffy cracked down on the trucking industry, on unqualified commercial drivers, and on states like California that refuse to put safety first.”
But as I said back in February, when word came of the deaths of four Amish men at the hands of an illegal-alien Uzbek truck driver:
...But without concentrated and targeted enforcement efforts from local and especially state jurisdictions, there's only so much the feds can do.
Some of the states have stepped up bigly in the effort. I know Florida, my home state, has.
But some seem to be lagging. To their credit, American truckers' groups are calling out the offenders in blue and red states.
USDOT Blitz Week was a Huge Disappointment in Arkansas
— American Truckers United (ATU) (@atutruckers) July 2, 2026
Arkansas Highway Police ignored the illegal alien truck driver crisis again — while ICE and CBP were completely MIA. Another massive fail for "public safety." pic.twitter.com/DTJYFW77VO
As for that Secretary of Transportation, I don't know when he sleeps (or, for that matter, any of the Trump cabinet), because he's still on the hunt for offending driving schools and has announced another round of closures and decerts.
🚨EMERGENCY SHUTDOWN🚨@USDOT is issuing an emergency shutdown of 110 CDL schools and removing an additional 160+ training providers for failing to meet @FMCSA standards.
— Secretary Sean Duffy (@SecDuffy) August 31, 2026
These are the WORST OF THE WORST:
❌ INADEQUATE space for driving examination
❌ UNLICENSED training… pic.twitter.com/UlntrWoNKU
ZERO classroom spaces
MISSING records of testing
FRAUD CAN RUN BUT IT CAN’T DRIVE
Duffy's DOT guys, along with Markwayne Mullins, Department of Homeland Security (DHS) agents, have been backtracking on the paperwork of the illegal and non-English speaking truck drivers they've nabbed during their voluminous number of highway enforcements, and using that to zero in on the driving schools illicitly issuing permits and certifications to these drivers.
They've been able to build cases against each of these 270 schools after identifying multiple drivers from each.
...The administration is shutting down 110 driving schools that were the "greatest offenders" in granting drivers' licenses to illegal immigrants, as well as 160 additional schools that Duffy says lacked proper space for driving tests or had unlicensed instructors.
Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration chief Derek Barrs said each of the 110 "greatest offenders" passed at least 10 drivers who were "subsequently cited for English language proficiency during roadside inspections by law enforcement."
..."Our investigators went into 400 driver training schools and we found that 40% of these that we investigated did not meet the rules and the requirements of our regulations," he added.
That is unconscionable, but, man - is it big business.
In May, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents in concert with the South Carolina state police and local authorities ran an operation along I-26, and the numbers were just astonishing from a mere three-day period.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) announced that it has undertaken two major highway safety operations in coordination with South Carolina law enforcement agencies, called “Operation Safe Drive” and “Operation Rubber Duck.” The efforts took place between May 12 and May 14, and targeted commercial vehicles, fraudulent truck drivers, illegal operator licenses and immigration violations. The operations removed dangerous criminal and illegal alien individuals from the community. All told, the team arrested 114 individuals for immigration and criminal violations while also seizing illegal drugs and cash.
Operation Safe Drive was conducted along I-26 and included ICE’s Removal and Operations, the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division, the State Transit Police, the Duncan Police Department and other local police departments.. It focused on improving road safety, enforcing immigration laws, and increasing collaboration with local partners. It is intended to protect the public and included numerous arrests for administrative and criminal violations along with significant seizures of cocaine and cash, the agency announced.
...In total, the combined operation resulted in:
114 criminal and administrative arrests
10 kilograms of cocaine seized with an estimated value of $200,000
145 vehicle stops and 77 inspections
89 citations for traffic and safety violations
22 drivers and vehicles removed from service
“ICE and its partners remain committed to safeguarding the public through ongoing, collaborative enforcement efforts that address threats and uphold the law,” the agency wrote.
'Operation Shield,' held at the beginning of the month in Indiana, Illinois, Ohio, and Iowa, also produced tremendous results, highlighting the scope of the illegal alien and unsafe driver problem and continuing to identify the states at the root of the CDL problem.
🚨RESULTS ARE IN🚨
— Secretary Sean Duffy (@SecDuffy) August 4, 2026
DAY 1 OF “OPERATION HIGHWAY SHIELD” in Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, and Ohio — cracking down on illegal alien truckers:
❌ About 800 unsafe truckers off the road
❌ 36 English proficiency violations
❌ 51 illegal immigrants holding non-domiciled CDLs detained,… pic.twitter.com/wf11A9pnGD
❌ 51 illegal immigrants holding non-domiciled CDLs detained, nearly half from CA & NY
When we ENFORCE the law, we get RESULTS. Proud to partner with @SecMullinDHS, @DHSgov, and state law enforcement.
If you continue to illegally operate a big rig – your days on America’s streets are numbered.
A little over a week ago, what one of the freight websites called 'the latest CDL crackdown' illustrates why cutting off both ends of the snake is so absolutely essential. What they are finding behind the wheel of a big rig on the road gets its start with that certificate at one of these 'schools.'
Not to mention the fact that this enforcement effort is long overdue.
Recent enforcement actions in Arizona, New Mexico, Louisiana, Ontario and British Columbia highlight increased roadside scrutiny of commercial vehicles and drivers.
New Mexico operation puts 27 trucks, drivers out of service
...Authorities conducted 153 commercial vehicle safety inspections, placing 20 vehicles and seven drivers out of service. Officers also issued 62 commercial motor vehicle citations, including 58 moving violations and four equipment citations.
Inspectors weighed 100 commercial vehicles and identified five overweight trucks during the operation.
...Ontario blitz places 64% of inspected trucks out of service
...Officials conducted 25 commercial vehicle inspections and placed 16 vehicles — 64% of those inspected — out of service. Authorities also issued 29 Provincial Offence Notices. Niagara Regional Police stopped another 14 trucks but did not conduct inspections after determining there were valid reasons for the vehicles to be in the area.
Inspectors found violations involving brake adjustments, load securement, a disconnected pushrod, a cracked trailer frame with loose tracking-component bolts, false logs and Commercial Vehicle Operator’s Registration and electronic logging device requirements.
As the Freightwaves article above notes:
Why it matters: High out-of-service rates in several recent operations underscore how roadside enforcement can immediately remove capacity and disrupt freight operations.
But besides the disruptions to moving freight itself, it also means the roads are safer by far, with so many potentially dangerous foreign and illegal drivers being removed from them.
95 ILLEGAL ALIEN TRUCK DRIVERS ARRESTED.
— Homeland Security (@DHSgov) August 31, 2026
Working alongside law enforcement partners, @CBP arrested the truckers in Arizona — 76 of whom had driver’s licenses issued by CALIFORNIA.
We won’t stop fighting to get illegal alien truckers OFF our nation’s roads.… https://t.co/OojGPH3lHC
And at the rate Duffy's department is continually working across the board with other agencies and state enforcement, there are fewer and fewer on the roads every week.
This is what it's going to take, and lucky us, someone is willing to go at it.
And stay at it.
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